ABC and Fox Lead Thursday; ABC Loses Steam

'The Big Bang Theory' Leads Night, As Usual

What follows are the preliminary national ratings for Thursday, February 11 broken out by network and by each half-hour. Note that these results are based on the time period averages and are not program based.
-Total Viewers:
Fox: 8.88 million, CBS: 8.69, ABC: 6.96, NBC: 4.89, CW: 1.86
-Adults 18-49:
ABC and Fox: 2.1 rating/7 share each, CBS: 1.9/ 6, NBC: 1.1/ 4, CW: 0.7/ 2

· Note that this week’s ABC competition was up +50% versus last week in the time period in 18-49 (1.8 vs. 1.2) and up +157% versus two weeks ago (1.8 vs. 0.7).

· Improves the time period by +38% versus NBC’s regular-program season average in the slot before “Shades” (1.1 vs. 0.8, L+SD excluding sports and specials) and +35% in total viewers (5.387 million vs. 3.993 million).

· Ties for #2 in the hour among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49 and is #2 outright among those nets in all key adult-female demos.

· Is a highly time-shifted series, with:

o Last week’s L+3 increase of +76% in 18-49 (1.15 to 2.02) ranking as the #1 biggest L+3 lift for the week on the Big 4 networks.

o The newest L+7 results including a +93% increase in 18-49 (1.36 to 2.62 on Jan. 21), the #3 biggest L+7 lift of that week on the Big 4.

o That Jan. 21 telecast also added more than 800,000 full-episode views on NBC.com and Hulu in seven days (820,730).

· Against the return of ABC’s “Scandal” and CNN-PBS Democratic debate coverage, retains +93% of last week’s 1.5 in 18-49.

· Note that this week’s ABC competition was up +91% versus last week in the time period (2.1 vs. 1.1) and up +200% versus two weeks ago (2.1 vs. 0.7).

· Has remained in the 1.4-1.6 range in 18-49 with each of its last 13 telecasts.

· Improves the slot +17% versus NBC’s average last season (1.4 vs. 1.2, L+SD non-sports) and is up +18% in total viewers (6.317 million vs. 5.333 million)

· These numbers will increase dramatically with time-shifting and viewing on alternate platforms — “Blacklist” has grown by +97% this season in 18-49 rating (from a 1.51 to a 2.98) and 4.9 million viewers overall (7.1 million to 12.0 million) going from L+SD to L+7.

· Upscale: “Blacklist” is generating a strong upscale audience, indexing at a 149 among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes (“most current” including L+3).

“You, Me and the Apocalypse” (0.8/3 in 18-49, 3.0 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET):

· Facing increased competition from ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” finishes within 0.1 of a point of last week’s 0.9 in 18-49.

· Note that this week’s ABC competition was up +140% versus last week in the time period (2.4 vs. 1.0).

· Grew +14% from its first half-our to its second in adults 18-49 (0.7 to 0.8).

“LIFE IN PIECES” SCORES LARGEST AUDIENCE SINCE DECEMBER AND THIRD LARGEST OF THE SEASON

At 8:00 PM, THE BIG BANG THEORY was first in viewers (15.98m, up +5% from 15.29), A18-49 (3.8, nc) and A25-54 (5.5, up +2% from 5.4). THE BIG BANG THEORY was the night’s top broadcast in all these measures.

At 8:30 PM, LIFE IN PIECES averaged 9.50m (up +5% from 9.09m), 2.1 in A18-49 and 3.1 in A25-54. LIFE IN PIECES delivered its largest audience since Dec. 17.

I’m a huge fan of HTGAWM but even though I knew it returned last night, I felt like it had snuck up quickly back on TV because I had been so accustomed to ignoring ABC Thursdays for the past three months. I bet others did the same. The network found a great Monday filler in between DWTS seasons with The Bachelor but now they must make developing a worthy Thursdsy filler in between TGIT runs in the near future. Viewers aren’t into dieting shows anymore. ABC gravely miscalculated with the horribly titled My Diet is Better Than Your Diet.

I tend to agree with you. Of course HTGAWM had really awful re-run numbers last year and ABC was eager to avoid its looking bad, but I concur that the idea of stopping the show and restarting it gives people a chance to reconsider watching it.

The solution? Develop shows that are compelling enough so that people will want to watch them again like they do BBT and NCIS…